Chapter 5 Zera #3
It was a symbol of the promise she’d made to her late mother that she would always keep her pixie dust a secret, and up until today, she’d done just that. She guessed it was too late to worry about broken promises. She tucked it into her pocket and moved on to her dresser.
Zera’s fingers brushed against a photo frame on her nightstand, a snapshot of Cole laughing, his eyes sparkling with mischief. She hesitated before tucking it into the side pocket of her bag, a talisman to remind her of what she was fighting for.
“Are you absolutely sure?” Maverick’s voice pulled her from her thoughts.
“About leaving my son? No. About stopping Gareth and whoever else is hunting me and other pixies for our pixie dust? Absolutely.” Zera zipped up her bag with finality. “This isn’t only about us anymore. It’s bigger than that.”
Maverick nodded, understanding etched into his crisp features. “I’ll protect you with my life, Zera. We’re in this together.”
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that,” she replied, slinging her bag over her shoulder. Her senses sharpened as she prepared for the unknown, her mother’s intuition merging with the instincts of a pixie.
She could do this. She had to.
“Jade put Cole down for a nap,” Maverick said when she turned toward him. He leaned against the doorframe, his arms crossed over his chest.
Zera felt a pang of guilt at the thought of uprooting her son’s life, but she knew he was in good hands with his aunts. If all went according to plan, she’d be reunited with him in no time at all.
“Thank you,” Zera said sincerely. She took a deep breath and squared her shoulders.
“All set to pack up?” Maverick asked, extending his hand for her bag.
“Ready as I’ll ever be.” Zera handed him the bag.
His eyes flickered to her ears, and he grimaced.
She frowned, unable to fight the sudden feeling of self-consciousness.
He’d been different ever since discovering she was a pixie, which Jade had obviously left out of her FaeMatch profile.
Would that have changed anything? Had her profile mentioned that she was a pixie, would Maverick not have initiated a non-date with her?
She hated the pang of disappointment—although he was a werewolf, and she hated them to their very core. But she had a reason to. Not just because of her ex but because many wolf packs were known to hunt her kind. They were the reason only a few pixies had power anymore.
Still, she didn’t like the thought of werewolves being prejudiced in return. A double standard, but it was what it was.
“You should get some rest.”
She shook her head. “We only have a few hours, and there’s still so much to do.”
“I’ll take care of it,” Maverick insisted, the usual gruffness in his tone replaced with something else. Something sweet, as if he actually cared about her as more than just a liability to his cover. As if he hadn’t shown his visible disgust for her kind.
She caught his eye, and the tenderness that had been there before quickly vanished, replaced with the ice-cold resolve that had come to define their relationship.
“Rest up. Tomorrow, you’ll become Mrs. Brown, and you’ll definitely need your energy.” With that, he gave her a curt nod and backed out of her room with her bag, leaving her alone in the uncomfortable silence.
As if she could sleep now.
The next morning, they were all up before dawn, fed, and ready to go. All remnants of Cole had been removed from a house devoid of personal touches, as if it were a model home ready to be put up for sale.
Zera’s heart beat wildly as she considered what lay ahead, but she knew she couldn’t afford to waver—not with so much at stake. She gripped the box she carried out to the waiting car a little tighter.
Sloane waved her hand, and the waiting trunk popped open before she magicked the luggage inside. The bags flew into the trunk and arranged themselves into a neat row.
Catching Zera’s glance, she gave her a somber nod. Somber was the theme of this morning. No one seemed to be in good spirits except for Cole, who was blissfully content playing games with Maverick on the porch.
Cole, with his tousled brown hair sticking up in all directions from sleep, was perched beside Maverick, eyes wide with curiosity at the bright stuffed animal Maverick was playing with.
“Beep! Beep!” Maverick moved the stuffed animal in front of Cole. “Oh no, Agent Shadow set off the alarm. Quick, we need a distraction.” Maverick glanced conspiratorially at Cole. “Think you can handle that, partner?”
Cole grinned and laughed at the high-pitched voice Maverick used, and Zera soon joined in.
Maverick caught her staring again and flashed her a crooked smile, scooping her son up and walking over to meet her where she stood next to the waiting cars.
“Your son’s got some serious covert-ops potential.” Maverick grinned, winking at her, his usual bravado softened around the edges.
“Thanks, I think?” Zera chuckled, setting the box she carried on the ground beside them so she could hold her son.
“He’s a great kid,” Maverick said with a sincerity that struck a chord within her.
“Careful there, Mr. Spy,” she teased as he handed Cole back to her. “You might find yourself on permanent diaper duty.”
“A mission I’d happily accept.” Maverick’s words slipped out quickly, as if he’d spoken before thinking about it.
Their eyes locked for a moment, the air between them thick.
Had she heard him right? Had he really just said that?
She didn’t know what she could trust anymore.
All she could think about was her skyrocketing heartbeat.
Maverick dipped his head, his lips hovering dangerously close to Zera.
If she leaned in, their lips would meet.
Maverick cupped her face with his free hand, caressing her cheek with his thumb. Zera’s breath hitched, and she didn’t dare move an inch. She couldn’t believe how easily he affected her, how a simple touch from him could make her body feel alive.
A car trunk slammed shut, breaking the spell between them. The pain and desire in Maverick’s gaze morphed into a look of mild disgust, sending Zera’s heart plummeting.
Zera stepped back and desperately tried to catch her breath. What was it that made him both seem attracted yet at the same time repelled by her?
A bloody mind game of an arrogant wolf, perhaps. The thought left a sour taste in her mouth.
“We’re all set,” Jade called, rounding the car. “Guess it’s time to say our goodbyes if we’re going to make it to Pixie Hollow before dark.”
Zera swallowed hard, holding Cole close. “Okay, baby. Be good for your aunties, all right?”
She pulled him into a hug, and his laughter tore at her heartstrings. It would be a while before she would hold her son in her arms again, but she promised herself it wouldn’t be that long. She would do whatever she needed to in order to get back to him safe and sound.
“I’ll see you soon,” she whispered into Cole’s ear, praying to the fae it would only be a few days, though she knew this would depend on how good of a spy Maverick really was.
“Ready?” Maverick asked, his voice tight.
“Can we ever really be ready for this?” Zera replied, mustering a weak smile but never once taking her eyes off her son.
If these were the last few moments she had with her baby boy, then she would spend them cherishing every little wrist roll and chubby cheek.
Cole reached for her nose and giggled. He had no idea how much she was going to miss him during this mission or the danger she most likely would face, if the incident at the restaurant was any indicator of what might happen.
He simply knew that he was loved, and that brought a certain comfort to her heart.
“It’s time,” Maverick said softly.
Zera nodded, and with one final kiss on Cole’s forehead, she loaded him into his car seat, which waited in Sloane’s car. She looked up at Sloane in the driver’s seat. “Keep him safe, will you?”
“With my life.” Sloane gave a sad smile. “But we’ll see you soon.”
“See you soon,” Zera repeated, praying to the fae that was true.
She straightened in time to be pulled against Jade’s chest, her half sister’s strong arms wrapping around her. “Promise me you’ll be safe.”
Zera gripped the fabric of her sister’s shirt and nodded into her shoulder.
“And be careful with that one.” Jade nodded toward Maverick, who was now busy emptying the things she’d just packed from her car.
Zera frowned. What in the fae realm was he doing?
“Zera, promise me.”
She looked back at her sister, who had a worried expression on her face.
“Of course. I promise I’ll be safe and careful. You don’t have to worry about me with Maverick.”
“Good,” Jade said, hopping into the open passenger seat. “I’ll talk to you as soon as Maverick ships us those faestones.”
“Oh!” Zera exclaimed, holding Jade’s door open as her mom brain suddenly warped into overdrive. She went through a laundry list of things that popped into her mind. “Remember he only likes his blue sippy cup with milk when he wakes up, the green one for before naps and bedtime and—”
“Zera, we’ve got this,” Jade said with an understanding smile. “Just take care of yourself. We’ll take care of the rest.”
She nodded, unable to vocalize another somber goodbye. With one final glance at Cole, Zera shut Jade’s door and stepped away.
The engine roared to life and drove off, taking with it everyone she loved in this realm.
A pang of sorrow swept over her and threatened to take control of her limbs.
She wanted to fall to her knees, to weep.
But that wouldn’t help bring them all back.
She had to keep her emotions in check. If not for her sake, for Cole’s.
“Let’s go,” Maverick said, walking up and handing her a backpack that definitely didn’t belong to her.
“What’s this?”
“Your things,” he said, pulling on an identical backpack onto his shoulders. “I moved them into this one. It’ll be better. More agile.”
“Uh-uh… How’d you get them so quickly?”
He gave her a look that said she wouldn’t want to know.
“Okay, new backpack. Got it.” She took the bag and unzipped it, checking to be sure everything was in there. Her heart stopped in panic when she didn’t see her most valuable item. “Where’s my home lab kit?”
Maverick frowned. “You mean the chest that took up more space than necessary, filled with vials, a microscope, and a bunch of other doodads?”
“Yes, that.”
“I left it in the car.” He shrugged. “You won’t need that stuff.”
“Like bloody fae I’m leaving here without it,” she huffed over her shoulder and marched right back to the car.
She pulled the hard-shelled chest that took up an entire section of her suitcase out of the car and set in on the ground.
It definitely wouldn’t fit in the backpack, but she’d use her pixie dust to magic it down a few sizes to fit.
Anything to not be parted with her third true love—science.
Third, because her first true love was her son and second was the rest of her family.
“What’s the deal with all this… science stuff anyway? I thought you were a bartender, not a scientist.” Maverick, suddenly next to her, leaned against the trunk of her car.
“It’s… only a hobby.” She took a deep breath, bracing her hands on the chest as the heat of her pixie dust rushed up her spine. She hoped it was enough to do its magic. “Something I love to do in my free time.”
He raised an eyebrow, clearly not buying her explanation. She couldn’t blame him—it wasn’t exactly a common hobby for a bartender.
But the truth was, she had always been fascinated by science. Even before she knew about the pixie-dust crisis. Growing up, she would spend hours poring over books about faeology, dreaming of one day becoming a true scientist or a biologist. But life had obviously taken her down a different path.
“Well, you won’t have much free time where we’re going,” he said with a shrug, a look of awe briefly flitting across his otherwise-stoic features when purple magic absorbed the chest, shrinking it down to the size of her palm.
“I can’t afford to leave it,” she said, and she stuffed it into a pocket of the backpack before standing. She pulled the straps over her shoulders and adjusted the weight. It was surprisingly light. “So… what about my car?”
“It stays.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “What? Why?”
Maverick turned to face her, his massive frame towering over her. “Because if we take it, then it’ll look like you’re on the run. Which you’re not, right?”
“Right. So we’re walking to Mystic City on foot?” she asked, bewildered. “Because my pixie wings can barely carry me across my living room, let alone carry a giant werewolf like yourself. No offense.”
“None taken.” He smirked, and she gritted her teeth. So much for not feeding his overinflated ego.
She sighed and followed him down the road, trying to keep up with his brisk pace. “Where to now?”
“To get you a new identity.” He shot her a crooked smile, and his eyes glinted with mischief. “It’s time you truly became Mrs. Brown.”
Zera swallowed hard. Her heart skipped a beat as she realized what this meant. She tried to be afraid or angry about what this would entail, but she wasn’t. To her horror, and one she would never admit to, the prospect of pretending to be someone else actually sounded like… fun.